Sensitivity and specificity of fine needle aspiration for the diagnosis of mediastinal lesions. Ann Diagn Pathol 2019 Apr;39:69-73
Date
02/24/2019Pubmed ID
30797131DOI
10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2019.02.011Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85061637877 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 6 CitationsAbstract
Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of mediastinal masses allows for rapid on-site evaluation and the triaging of material for ancillary studies. However, surgical pathology is often considered to be the gold standard for diagnosis. This study examines the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC compared to a concurrent or subsequent surgical pathology specimen in 77 mediastinal lesions. The overall sensitivity for mediastinal mass FNAC was 78% and the overall specificity was 98%. For individual categories the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC was respectively as follows: inflammatory/infectious (33%, 99%), metastatic carcinoma (93%, 100%), lymphoma (84%, 97%), cysts (25%, 100%), soft tissue tumors (100%, 100%), paraganglioma (50%, 100%), germ cell tumor (100%, 99%), thymoma (87%, 94%), thymic carcinoma (60%, 100%), benign thymus (0%, 100%), and indeterminate (100%, 90%). For different locations within the mediastinum the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC was respectively as follows: anterosuperior mediastinum (80%, 98%), posterior mediastinum (33%, 95%), middle mediastinum (100%, 100%), and mediastinum, NOS (79%, 99%). Thus, mediastinal FNAC is fairly sensitive, very specific, and is a valuable technique in the diagnosis of mediastinal masses.
Author List
Marcus A, Narula N, Kamel MK, Koizumi J, Port JL, Stiles B, Moreira A, Altorki NK, Giorgadze TAuthor
Tamara Giorgadze MD Professor in the Pathology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biopsy, Fine-Needle
Child
Female
Humans
Male
Mediastinal Neoplasms
Middle Aged
Sensitivity and Specificity
Thoracic Surgical Procedures
Triage
Young Adult
